Kuala Lumpur Contemporary Music Festival 09

The 1st KL Contemporary Music Festival 09 is organised by Goethe-Institut Malaysia and the Malaysian Composers Collective, together with event co-organiser SEGi College Subang Jaya, to be held in Kuala Lumpur from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November 2009.

The festival, with this year's theme of Urban Soundscapes, will bring together the best of Malaysian and South East Asian contemporary music at nightly concerts by Ensemble Mosaik and Hong Kong New Music Ensemble.

The weekend programme of evening concerts will be held at Segi College University Kota Damansara Auditorium A, with a special Alternative Avant Garde electroacoustic concert at the Central Market Annexe by HKNME and guest musicians. These concerts will explore how composers respond to the festival theme of city life with its many facets and issues.

The Festival also includes the Asian Composers' Conference with talks by invited regional composers such as Dr Anothai Nitibhon (Thailand), Dr Hoh Chung Shih (Spore), Dr Jonas Baes (Philippines), Prof Slamet Sjukur (Indonesia), Prof Dieter Mack (Germany) and more.

KLCMF 09 represents the first regional contemporary music festival of its kind in Malaysia and the premiere contemporary music event of the year. It serves as a platform where Malaysian and South East Asian composers can meet, exchange ideas and celebrate our region's rich musical talent.

One of the highlights of the Festival is the Young Composers Competition 09 which will invite a total of 9 young composers, selected on the basis of a submitted score of an original composition for a chamber ensemble, to participate in rehearsal workshops and a final concert which will be adjudicated by an international jury comprising established South East Asian composers and German composers.

Based on the highly successful HSBC Young Composers Workshop 08, the competition ups the stakes this year by pitching Malaysian composers against their colleagues from the region. It is a formula that has produced some top notch young composers, many of whom have moved on to regional successes and premieres. View the KLCMF 09 programme >

The Festival Ensembles

Goethe Institute's generous financial support makes it possible for the KLCMF 09 to present two exciting contemporary music groups who will collaborate with our composers to bring you a varied programme of contemporary classical music that is, for the first time in this country, focused on the music of our region.

Ensemble Mosaik

Ensemble Mosaik, one of Germany's leading contemporary music outfits, is the main Festival ensemble who will perform the opening and closing concerts as well as the young composers workshops daily.

The ensemble was formed in 1997 by an initiative of young instrumentalists and composers in Berlin. Its interest lies in the diversity of aesthetic concepts and their forms of existence in contemporary music. To allow for the intended contemporary practice of performance, the ensemble works in close consultation with the composers.

Apart from portrait concerts with "classical" contemporary composers like Lachenmann, Wolpe, Stockhausen and Ligeti, the ensemble mosaik pays particular attention to the opus of the younger newcomers like Enno Poppe, Rebecca Saunders, Stephan Streich, Michael Beil, Sergej Newski and Sebastian Claren. In developing a long line of concerts which are based on specific themes such as in "audible interfaces", "Musikszene Graz", "Mythen des Alltags" or "Serien und Etüden" the ensemble mosaik gained considerable reputation.

They received the Ernst-von-Siemens music-award in 2001, 2002 and 2004. The ensemble has performed on numerous national and international festivals in Europe and around the world, for example Donaueschinger Musiktage, festival de músiques contemporànies Barcelona, Contraste in Ĺviv, Jornadas de música contemporànea de Granada, MaerzMusik, UltraSchall Berlin, Musik-Biennale Berlin, festival di nuova consonanza Rom and on Transit in Leuven. Many of the concerts were covered live on radio-live-broadcasts.

The ensemble frequently premieres new compositions, many of which were expressly written for them.

Hong Kong New Music Ensemble

The HKNME is one of our region's most exciting full time contemporary music ensembles. A group of 6 musicians from the group will perform the evening and late night electroacoustic concert on 28 Nov 09.

An initiative of the Grenzenlos Foundation, the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble was formed in 2006 with fifteen of the best local and international Western and Chinese instrumentalists living in Hong Kong, with a mission to establish a strong presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

The HKNME presents the best new music in Hong Kong by local HK composers, Asian composers and also by the important international figures. It intends to foster interesting interdisciplinary collaborations, and to present the highest quality contemporary music to Hong Kong audiences on a regular basis.

In its previous identity, called ‘Grenzenlos’, the group performed in the Summer 2008 in Hong Kong (Osage Gallery Kwun Tong), Macau (Ox Warehouse), Guangzhou (with the Guangdong Modern Dance Company) and Shenzhen (Mooka Space). From 2007, Grenzenlos also performed at Princeton University (USA), ORKA-M (India), the University of London (UK) and Meran Palace (Austria).

In October 2008 members of the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble were resident at the Shanghai Conservatory. Starting in early 2009 the HKNME will present regular concerts in Hong Kong.

Organising Committee and Acknowledgements

Organizing Committee:
Executive Producers: Hardesh Singh, CH Loh & Dr Volker Wolf
Festival Manager: David Ngui
Festival Administrator: Patsy Ng
Administration Assistants: Sharil, Alan Eee, June Lee
Program Manager: Chong Huey Ching
Master of Ceremony: Fiona Wong
Festival Secretary: Eva Tan
Technical Director: Hardesh Singh
Technical Manager: Shaun Chong
Stage Manager: Chong Huey Ching
Videographer: Jye Lee, Kien Leong, Ansif, Lim Teck Chan
Still Photographer: Chow Yik Sun, Lai Jia Hau
Volunteers: SEGi College Subang Jaya, Music Department students - Jenny Wong Shu Yuan, Yu Xin Xian, Chan Zi Ying, Tommy Chin Hong Wei, Lee Pooi Yin, Florence Chong Khei Kuna, Ti Qi Xin, Goh Wei Jing, Lim Jing Xiuan, Yeo Lee Yee, Chen Kein Wooi, Chaw Sau Hong, Goh Hong Lip.

Piano Sponsor:
Wagner Piano

Additional Instrument Support:
PCC Orchestra, German School Kuala Lumpur

Poster Design:
Roy Tan

Printing:
Gary Khoo

Festival Caterer:
Country Lifestyle Café, SEGi UC.

Invited Ensembles:
Ensemble Mosaik (Germany), Hong Kong New Music Ensemble (Hong Kong)

Guest Musicians:
Chong Keat Aun & Neuyabe, EMACM (Ng Chor Guan, Yong Yandsen, Tham Kar Mun and Kok Siew Wai), Goh Lee Kwang & Friends (Wong Eng Leong, Wong Min Lik, Lim Keh Soon
Muriz Contemporary Trio (Malaysia), Nicholas Ong, Ong May Yi, Tey Beng Tze (Malaysia),
Leow Pei Yu (Singapore),

Jury Panel:
Anothai Nitibhon (Thailand), Dieter Mack (Germany), Johan Othman (Malaysia), Jonas Baes (The Philipines), Moritz Eggert (Germany) & Musicians of Ensemble Mosaik.

We wish to express our gratitude to all Guest composers for contributing their works, suggestions, advice and effort:
Adeline Wong (Malaysia), Ahmad Muriz Che Rose (Malaysia), Boonrut Sirirattanapan (Thailand), Chinary Ung (Cambodia/USA), C H Loh (Malaysia), Chong Keat Aun [Ji-An] & Neuyabe (Malaysia), Goh Lee Kwang (Malaysia), Hardesh Singh (Malaysia), Hoh Chung Shih (Singapore), Jerome Kugan (Malaysia), Jiradej Setabundhu (Thailand), Narong Prangcharoen (Thailand), Ng Chong Lim (Malaysia), Ng Chor Guan (Malaysia), Ngiao Tzu En (Malaysia), Nguyen Thien Dao (Vietnam/France), Otto Sidharta (Indonesia), Samson Young (HK), Slamet Abdul Sjukur (Indonesia), Tan Zi Hua (Malaysia), Tazul Izan Dajuddin (Malaysia) , Teh Tze Siew (Malaysia), Tony Prabowo (Indonesia)

Additional thanks to:
Jason Tan (Off The Edge), Chong Keat Aun (Ai FM), Jerome Kugan & Pang Khee Tiek (Annexe Gallery, Central Market), Lee Kee Hin, Moon Chen, Shanon Crowe & Captain Roslee (SEGi Education Group)

Media Articles
  • 20 May 09 - New Straits Times: Music In The City
  • 14 June 09 - Sin Chew Jit Poh: In Search Of Local Composers
  • July 2009 - Off The Edge magazine: In With The New, preview of the festival
  • August 2009 - Off The Edge magazine: The show must go on! - feature on Johan Othman, guest jury
  • September 2009 - Off The Edge magazine: Multiplicity, interview with Prof Dieter Mack, guest speaker
  • October 2009 - Off The Edge magazine: Of prophets and bandits, interview with Slamet Sjukur, guest speaker
  • October 2009 Going Places (MAS Inflight magazine): Playlist - City In Chorus
  • November 2009: Time Out KL - Compose Away (Brian Kwan)
  • November 2009 - Off The Edge magazine: We Built This City - sneak peek of the festival programme
Photos:

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